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NBA Player Greg Oden Faces Felony Battery Charge

Former Lawrence North basketball star Greg Oden, 26, faced a felony battery charge Monday following his arrest last Thursday in northeast Marion County after an incident involving his ex-girlfriend.

Lawrence Police Department (LPD) investigators said just after 3:30 a.m., officers headed to the 7200 block of Maple Bluff Place on a report of a disturbance.

After speaking with Oden outside the house, officers found a woman lying inside on a couch with blood covering her face.

LPD said the victim's best friend was also there, and was very upset by the incident. The friend, being called a witness by LPD, said Oden had punched the woman in the face.

Officers said the victim also had swelling of the nose and cuts on her forehead and nose. There was blood on the sofa and floor of the living room and a flower pot had crashed to the floor.

LPD said the victim had a very hard time talking about the incident.

Investigators spoke with Oden, who said "things got out of control and I started to go after the victim."

He also admitted he had hit the victim during a struggle, and reportedly said, "I was wrong and I know what has to happen."

"Had there been a weapon used, had there been some significant injury, that could bump things up to the felony level," said Lawrence police Capt. Gary Woodruff. "At this point, the outright arrest was made for misdemeanor battery."

It was not immediately known what led to the incident.

"He needs to be held accountable through the court system. If he's found guilty, he needs to serve his time there," said Kelly McBride, executive director of Domestic Violence Network. "There are … batterers intervention programs, 26-week certified programs, that he could go to and learn about the dynamics of domestic violence, healthy relationships. He can if he chooses to."